What is Dark Tourism?

Upon defining Dark Tourism Stone (2006) does this by stating it is 'the travel to sites of death and disaster or the seemingly macabre.' Tarlow (2005:48) adds to this definition by stating that Dark Tourism exists when 'visitations to places where tragedies or historically noteworthy death has occurred and that continues to impact our lives'. From this it should be noted that 'dark' tourism is now a popular trend within the tourism sector. It has become a new phenomenon with tourists seeking out travel to sites and attractions associated with death and disaster. Minic (2012) indicates that Dark Tourism is now becoming an increasingly popular subject in a time where tourists have new requirements and interests. This has lead to dark tourism often being referred to as 'Thanatourism' (Seaton, 1996) with 'Thana' being short for the Greek word 'Thanatos' which translates to death. Conclusively, dark tourism expands boundaries of the imagination to provide contemporary visitors with potential life-changing moments of shock through a lens where both life and death may be glimpsed (adapted from Sharpley & Stone, 2012).

The Dark Tourism Spectrum

Sharpley & Stone (2009).

Introduction

This website has been designed and orchestrated as part of a University assessment on the subject of Dark Tourism. It aims to give the reader an insight into the study of the subject and focusses on the management implications and issues involved with the subject. Throughout this website it will solely focus on one particular dark tourism attraction. This being the 9/11 memorial and museum site often referred to as 'Ground Zero' located in Lower Manhattan, New York. A variety of management issues will be covered with appropriate references to literature and media sources such as images from the authors recent visit to the site. This website also offers the reader a chance to compare the management issues from the 'darkest' end of the Dark Tourism Spectrum to those from an attraction from the 'lightest' end of the scale.

The Dark Tourism Spectrum is a framework designed by Sharpley & Stone (2009) which ranks dark tourism attractions and sites on a 'lightest' to 'darkest' basis. Whilst filtering in many different indicators an understandable example from the scale would be; a site of death and suffering at the 'darkest' end being 9/11 memorial or Auschwitz. With a site associated with death and suffering suchas; The London Dungeons or Imperial War Museum making up the 'lightest' end.

Isaac & Cakmak (2012) argue that ‘this categorisation is bluntly irrational since people may experience dark or less dark emotions, arguably, sites do not experience anything and cannot be classified this way’. This suggests that it is humans who feel emotions and these could vary across different sites. These emotions could be the same at both ends of the spectrum. A loved one to a victim of the 9/11 atrocity may feel the same levels of emotion as a loved one of the second world war. These sites however, in regards to the 9/11 memorial and imperial war museum both offer opportunities for visitors to pay their respects, yet, they lay at opposite ends of the dark tourism spectrum.